Friday, September 12, 2014

Woman sends grandfather to jail with rape lie in bid to get inheritance early, smiles to friends during sentencing

A nurse has been struck off after being jailed for falsely accusing her grandfather of rape in a bid to claim his inheritance money.

Natalie Mortimer, from Aberdeen, was disciplined at a one-day standards hearing at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in London.

The 25-year-old was jailed for 22 months at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in January after being convicted of wasting 175 hours of police time by fabricating claims that her grandfather Gordon Ritchie sexually abused her.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard at the time how she had falsely accused her grandfather of raping her when she was a child so she could get her hands on inheritance money.

She eventually admitted she had made up the sex attack claims - but only after her innocent grandfather had spent time in a police cell following the allegations.

The false claims wasted dozens of hours of police time and cost taxpayers more than £3,000.

At the time, sheriff Graeme Buchanan told her: ‘False allegations of rape and other sexual offences are very serious because they put doubts in the minds of jurors in genuine cases and they subject innocent people such as Mr Ritchie to a terrifying ordeal of suspicion and investigation by police.

‘What you did to Mr Ritchie was truly evil and despicable and there is only one appropriate sentence for this behaviour and that is imprisonment.’

During her sentencing, she showed no remorse as she left the court dock in handcuffs - smiling at her friends in the public gallery.

Today, the NMC confirmed she had been struck off from her position as a staff nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for the offence.

Mortimer lived with her grandfather and grandmother until July 2011 when she packed her bags and moved to London.

She later went to a police station in Chiswick on numerous occasions between August 2012 and March last year and lodged complaints with police about her grandfather.

She claimed to have been raped by Mr Ritchie over two years when she was at primary school.

When Mr Ritchie, who used to be a foster carer, was first contacted by police he was on holiday with Mortimer's 15-year-old half-sister.

He had to cut short his holiday and was asked not to have any contact with children aged under 16.

As part of the investigation, previous foster children were also questioned and inquiries had to be made with social services and the health service, the court heard.

Over the course of many months, Mortimer spoke to numerous detectives and called Mr Ritchie her abuser and a paedophile.

The court heard how officers had been made aware that she had lied only after Mortimer's mother, Susan Simpson, began to doubt her story.

Representing the former Aberdeen Royal Infirmary staff nurse, solicitor Lynne Freeland said her client was aware she had 'torn lives apart' with her greedy, selfish and cruel actions.